EXHIBIT 99.1

                                 [ALTAREX LOGO]

CONTACT:
- --------
Rob Salmon
Chief Financial Officer
(780) 989-6708
rsalmon@altarex.com

  ALTAREX CORP. COMES TO A RESOLUTION IN LAWSUIT WITH ICN PHARMACEUTICALS INC.

EDMONTON, ALBERTA, JUNE 17, 2003 - ALTAREX CORP. (TSX: AXO, OTC: ALXFF)
("AltaRex" or the "Company") announced today that the lawsuit filed by ICN
Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Costa Mesa California has been resolved to the mutual
satisfaction of all parties. "I am delighted to see this matter behind us and
now hope to move the Company forward" said Dr. Antoine Noujaim, President and
CEO of AltaRex.

AltaRex Corp. is focused on the research, development and commercialization of
foreign antibodies that modulate the immune system for the treatment of certain
cancers and other diseases where there exists an unmet medical need. Additional
information about AltaRex Corp. can be found on its website at www.altarex.com.

This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and
uncertainties, which may cause actual results to differ materially from the
statements made. For this purpose, any statements that are contained herein that
are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward- looking
statements. Without limiting the foregoing, the words "believes," "anticipates,"
"plans," "intends," "expects" and similar expressions are intended to identify
forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not
limited to the Company's need for capital; the risk that the Company can not
raise funds on a timely basis on satisfactory terms or at all; the need to
obtain and maintain corporate alliances, such as the alliance with United
Therapeutics Corporation, and the risk that the Company cannot establish
corporate alliances on a timely basis, on satisfactory terms, or at all;
changing market conditions; uncertainties regarding the timely and successful
completion of clinical trials and patient enrollment rates, uncertainty of
pre-clinical, retrospective, early and interim clinical trial results, which may
not be indicative of results that will be obtained in ongoing or future clinical
trials; whether the Company and/or its collaborators will file for regulatory
approval on a timely basis; uncertainties as to when, if at all, the FDA and
other similar regulatory agencies will accept or approve regulatory filings for
the Company's products; the need to establish and scale-up manufacturing
processes, uncertainty as to the timely development and market acceptance of the
Company's products; the risk that the claims allowed under any issued patent
owned or licensed by the Company will not be sufficiently broad to protect the
Company's technology, that any patents issued to the Company will not be
sustained if challenged in court proceedings or otherwise or that third parties
will be able to develop products or processes that do not infringe valid patents
owned or licensed by the Company, and other risks detailed from time-to-time in
the Company's filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission
and Canadian securities authorities. The Company does not assume any obligation
to update any forward-looking statement.

 THE TORONTO STOCK EXCHANGE HAS NOT APPROVED OR DISAPPROVED OF THE INFORMATION
                                CONTAINED HEREIN
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